Friday 16th July, 2021 at 10:23am
One of a few Jags to miss time during pre-season, Mouhamed Niang has been back in training this week as Thistle prepare to take on Stenhousemuir in Premier Sports Cup action. Stephen Swift’s Warriors have already caused an upset this week having beaten League One side Dumbarton on Tuesday night and will be looking for another scalp as the Maryhill men visit Ochilview, however, Niang told ptfc.co.uk he’s looking forward to a challenging game:
“I’ve actually spoken to James Lyon who’s on loan at Stenhousemuir at the moment and he said they’ve got a really good team there and I think they’re one of the teams tipped to be up at the top of League Two so it’ll be a hard game but hopefully we can get the points.”
The aforementioned James Lyon was a standout for Stenny as they beat the Sons in midweek and Mouhamed says he was delighted to see his young teammate shine in the first competitive game of his loan spell.
“I was buzzing for him because I’m pretty close to James. I saw the goal after the game and what a goal it was; he says he had a really good overall game as well so I was very happy for him.”
Niang returned to full training with the squad on Monday and he says he’s loved being back with the squad.
“Of course, it feels great to be back. It was tough to miss training and the friendlies because it is a really important part of the season but I’ve enjoyed being back this week.
“In terms of match sharpness, I’m a bit behind the majority of the boys because I missed a couple of friendlies but I’m someone who’s naturally fit so hopefully if I can get some minutes during the rest of the cup games then I’ll get up to speed quickly.”
The Thistle number 21 had to watch on as the Jags got their competitive season underway against Dunfermline this past weekend which was an experience he didn’t particularly enjoy.
“It wasn’t ideal obviously; the first competitive match of the season is always an exciting day and you want to be involved.
“Watching the game, I felt we did well in spells but we were maybe just a bit short in terms of fitness and sharpness. We’ve got quite a few players who only played one or two friendlies so it may be that we just need a couple of games to get going properly.
“Hopefully we can get back on the right track this weekend because nine points could get us through and we definitely want to be in that next round of the cup. Both teams will be looking for the win so it should make for a good game.”
Exclusive preview interviews with Thistle assistant manager Neil Scally and Richard Foster will be available for JagZone subscribers to watch today – log in to view.
JagZone subscribers will be able to tune in to live audio commentary for our clash with Stenhousemuir, starting at 2:30pm – click here to tune in.
The home side are offering a pay-per-view streaming option, priced at £10, for fans who are not going to the game – click here for more info.
We’ll have extended highlights and a full game replay of the fixture on JagZone following the game.
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